"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits.” - Matthew 7:15-20 ESV
Sadly, the world is full of people who try to take advantage of us to make a profit, including false teachers and prophets. False men and women who say they have a message for us from the Lord, but do not. Some truly believe they are sharing what He has told them, but some are trying to deceive us for their own gain. Jesus warns us against them and tells us how to recognize them; we are to be fruit inspectors. To do this, we need to know how to tell good fruit from bad fruit.
One of the first passages that comes to mind when I think of fruit is Galatians 5:19-23. A true, godly teacher will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
Now, none of us will always be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-control. We’re still human and will mess up at times. But we who are truly following Jesus have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and He will be growing His fruit. Little by little, we will be growing in these areas.
If, on the other hand, people who claim to be Christian don’t have any of this fruit but instead practice the deeds of the flesh (immorality, fits of anger, divisiveness, etc.; Galatians 5:19-21), we might have reason to wonder if they truly follow Jesus. Be very cautious about anything they say, “from the Lord.”
Our best protection against being led away by false teachers and false prophets is to know the Bible. Compare what someone says with what God has revealed in His word. For example, who do they say Jesus is? What do they say is the way to heaven? Does what they say will happen actually happen? If someone is truly from God, their words will line up with what we find in the Bible. If someone declares they’ve had a prophetic word from God and it doesn’t happen, that person is a false prophet. (Galatians 1:8, Deuteronomy 18:21-22)
So how do I apply this to my own life? First, I want to check my own life to see that I am consistently growing good fruit and haven’t fallen into practicing the deeds of the world. (Remember Matthew 7:1-5.) If I suspect someone is a false teacher, stop listening to him/her. Also, pray for that person to truly become one of Jesus’ disciples and produce good fruit. And keep reading and studying God’s word a priority.
Think About: What kind of fruit are you producing?
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